US has ‘no plans’ to coordinate with Syria airstrikes against Islamic State

The US has already began surveillance flights over Syria, American officials say, as Washington contemplates airstrikes against Islamic State targets and confirms there are no plans to coordinate anti-terror attacks with the Syrian government.

In light of steady
advances of the jihadist Islamic State (IS) across Syria and
Iraq, the US Department of Defense is considering a number of
options for president Obama to consider, including airstrikes
against militant positions, similar to those the US has recently
carried out against IS in Iraq.

One US official, speaking on condition of anonymity told AP that
reconnaissance flights have already began in Syria, after two
officials claimed Monday that Obama had covertly approved such
flights. Another official earlier claimed that the administration
needs reliable intelligence on the ground in Syria before any
airstrikes are ordered.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey
declined to comment on the surveillance flights but said more
clarity is needed on IS ground positions in Syria.

“Clearly the picture we have of ISIS on the Iraqi side is a
more refined picture,” Dempsey told reporters in Kabul on
Tuesday. “The existence and activities of ISIS on the Syrian
side, we have ... some insights into that but we certainly want
to have more insights into that as we craft a way forward.”

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported that
“non-Syrian spy planes” carried out surveillance flights
on Monday.

When reports first surfaced that United States is prepared to use
a variety of options, including airstrikes in Syria without
Damascus' consent, if backed by regional and European partners,
Syria’s Foreign Minister Walid Muallem warned Washington against
such provocative military action calling it a violation of his
country’s sovereignty and an open aggression.

Yet the FM expressed Syria’s readiness to cooperate with the
international community to confront terrorism.

“Syria is ready to cooperate and coordinate ... at the
regional and international level in the war on terror,”
Muallem was quoted by Fars as saying. “But any efforts to
combat terrorism should come in coordination with the Syrian
government.”

But US officials said they did not plan to coordinate with
Damascus on targeting IS militants in Syria “There are no
plans to coordinate with the Assad regime as we consider this
terror threat,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in
Washington on Tuesday.

However, sources in Damascus told AFP that the US is unofficially
sharing some intelligence with Damascus through Iraq and Russia.
“The cooperation has already begun and the United States is
giving Damascus information via Baghdad and Moscow,” one
source close to the issue said on condition of anonymity.

Earlier this month, the Syrian National Coalition urged the
international community, namely the US, to carry out airstrikes against the Islamic State radicals
in Syria, after the US has launched almost 100 airstrikes on IS
terrorist positions in Iraq since beginning of a limited air
campaign on August 8.